Paint brush cleaning device



March 13, 1956 J. uss

PAINT BRUSH CLEANING DEVICE Filed Nov. 20, 1952 INVENTOR.

FRANK J- NUSS 29 y A T TORNE Y United States Patent Otiice PAINT BRUSH CLEANING DEVICE Frank J. Nuss, San Francisco, Calif.

Application November 20, 1952, Serial No. 321,638

' Claims. (Cl. 126-226) This invention relates to paint brush cleaning devices and more particularly to such devices by which caked or hardened paint, enamel, varnish, and the like in a bristle paint brush may be subjected to heat for reducing the hard paint in the bristled tuft or a paint brush to a powder form whereby the powder may be partially shaken from the brush or may be more readily washed from the brush by the conventional paint cleaning chemical or a thin oil, paint thinner or the like.

This application is a continuation in part of my copending application, Serial No. 253,993 filed October 31, 1951, now abandoned.

Briefly, the invention comprises an upstanding brush support member, preferably of inverted V-shape in vertical lateral section, providing planar walls convergingly inclined toward an elongated apex, the planar walls adjacent the apex being inwardly formed in the nature of a concave depression.

The edge of the apex and also the inwardly formed portion of the walls have openings therein, the apex edge being for mounting thereover the divided mass or tuft of bristles of a paint brush which is to be cleaned, so that the apex is within the heel or bound end of the bristles and the opposed or interior. faces of the divided bristles depend over the depressed inwardly formed portion of the planar walls which provide an air space between the bristles and the planar walls of the V-shaped member whereby heat may pass through the openings in said walls and at said apex edge and attack the hardened paint in the bristles of the brush.

Within the converging planar walls of the V-shaped member, means are provided for producing heat of a relatively high temperature constantly maintained. An enclosing casing is preferably provided around the V- shaped member including the ends and sides and providing a housing on each opposite side of the inverted hollow V-shaped member. The housing chambers have also high temperature heating means and have doors at the upper portion which may be opened for inserting a brush and closed against the brush for retaining a substantially constant heat within the housing and provide and maintain heat on the exterior of the two brush sections which are split and heated at the interior by mounting on the apex of the V-shaped member.

' One form in which the invention may be embodied is more fully described in the following specifications, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is an elevational view in perspective of the device of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a lateral transverse vertical section on line 2-2 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a perspective elevational exploded view of a V-shaped member shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring to the drawing in which like reference charis a suitable plane board base which is preferably cov- 2,737,945 I Patented Mar. 13, 1956 ered with sheet metal 11 upon which is mounted a housing generally indicated 12, to be further described.

Longitudinally of the base and at substantially the center line thereof is removably seated an upstanding elongated brush support member 13 which in vertical section is preferably of an inverted hollow V-shape providing an elongated relatively narrow upper apex edge, the opposite ends of the V-shaped member being closed by triangular walls 14, each end wall having a vertically elongated cut-out portion 15 open at its lower edge so that it may be slid over an electric bulb socket. Also, in each of the triangular end walls is an opening 16 for receiving a lock pin.

The upper apex edge 17 of the brush support member is provided with heat vent openings 18 spaced substantially throughout its length, and each of the convergingly inclined planar walls 13:: is provided adjacent said apex edge with a longitudinal area depressed from its plane in the nature of a concavity 19 which has a series of longitudinally spaced holes 20 preferably in a pair of parallel rows.

The housing 12 is spaced on each side of the V-shaped brush support member, and comprises a pair of arcuate shell side walls 21 of sheet metal, plastic or the like, the lower edges of which engage upon the base 10 preferably removably from sockets 22, though they may have hinged mounting, if desired. The arcuate side walls terminate in spaced relation to the apex edge of the V shaped support member and each has a hinged ilap 23 substantially its entire length which may be opened to permit seating the tuft of bristles of a paint brush B upon the apex edge of the V-shapcd member by dividing the tuft of bristles centrally as in Fig. 2, the flaps 23, as shown by the arcuate arrow lines in Fig. 2, being preferably of sufiicient width to jointly substantially close said opening between the adjacent edges of the arcuate side walls, said flaps being openable to receive the bristles of a brush therebetween and being closable against the bristles of the brush as in Fig. 2, to confine the heat around the outside of the bristles, since the outside of the bristles are removed from heat Within the V-shaped member.

The opposite end walls 24 of the arcuate housing members are connected at one edge to the arcuate shell of the housing and at the other edge they conform to the converging inclined end walls 14 of the ll-shaped support member, against which they repose, the end walls of the housing having cut-out portions 25 through which electric bulb sockets may extend. The ends of the V-shaped support member and the end Walls of the housing members cooperate to close the ends of the housing.

. Means are provided to develop and maintain a relatively high temperature heat within the brush support member and within the housing, the use of the term high temperature being relative to the use of the apparatus, the desired temperature varying within a rather wide range from 250 degrees to 325 degrees F. dependent on the character of paint or other product to be removed from the brush. Though it has been found efficient to employ a single heating means and vary the time of exposing the brush to the heat, or even giving the brush a repeated treatment, the heater means herein is exemplified by electric light bulbs 26, mountings for which are provided at each end of the housing. These mountings comprise any suitable blocks 27, 28 mounted laterally transversely of the base 10 closely adjacent to and exterior of the end walls of the housing. Upon the blocks are mounted electric bulb sockets 29 to receive the bulbs 26, preferably at least one in each of the substantially closed compartments 30, 31, 32 formed by the inverted V-shaped member and by each of the housing chambers on opposite sides thereof. Additional heating members may, if desired, be installed within either end of the housing.

the brush. it will be noted that the end .blocks'27, 2 8.

practically close the openings and .25 in the end walls to provide a substantially closed oven oflower temperature than the V-sha-ped support, leaving open only suflicient space for receiving therethrough the electric bulb sockets.

At times it may be necessary to clean the apparatus, and its parts are therefore made demountable. The V- shaped support member is removably locked upon the base at its opposite ends by removable pins33 passing through the blocks 27 and 28 and through the'holes 16. The two sections of the housing '21 may he slid from slots 22, and the end portions of the blocks 28 are madev in separate sections 23a hinged at 34 whereby the electric sockets in those sections may be swung away from the wall of the brush support member by first removing the adjacent housing member, as indicated by dotted line A in Fig. l.

Some brushes being narrower than others, in order to confine the application of heat, to the width of a mounted brush, there are provided detachable slidable shields 35 which may be slid along the apex edge to confine the heat to the area of the apex edge upon which the brush is mounted.

It is not to be assumed that in order to clean a brush of thickly caked and hardened paint pigment it is only necessary to place a brush in the device of the invention and that the hardened paint will then disappear from the brush responsive to the heat. If there is only a relatively slight stitiening of the bristles by hardened pigment the treatment ofthe brush in the device may sufficiently pulverize a relatively small amount of dried paint so that the hardened pigment may be rinsed out in a thin oil such as kerosene or turpentine. But the devise is essentially for use in cases where the bristles are substantially caked as a mass by the hard paint. It maybe observed that v to remove caked paint from a bristle brush it has been customary to immerse the caked bristles in a paint solvent chemical solution of some kind and to keep it so immersed for 24 to 48 hours. Such paint solvent chemicals, some of which are quite eliicient, not only will soften the caked paint, but the immersion over a long time will also react on the bristles themselves to hydrolyze them and remove their characteristic springiness and leave them soft, lifeless and stringy.

The purpose of this invention is not to-eliminate the use of chemicals in cleaning the hardened paint from the brush bristles, but to provide a means to soften the hardened paint gradually by maintaining it at a 'suflicient temperature until the binding oils are efiectively eliminated, leaving only the powdered dry pigment in the brush, and then' immerse the bristles of the brush in a paint solvent chemical solution so that the chemicals may saturate through the caked paint and attack the outer layers and inner core simultaneously, resulting in necessity to immerse the brush in chemicals for a relatively short period of time, such as one or two hours, and thus be able to rinse the bristles and remove the paint without immersion for a long enough time for the chemicals to react'deleteriously on the bristles themselves.

4 Manifestly the brush being treated may be suitably supported while being subjected to heat in the apparatus,

a conventional supporting bracket 36 being exemplified herein for holding the handle of the brush.

Having described the invention, I claim:

1. A paint brush cleaning device including an upstanding hollow brushsupport member having inclined planar walls converging to a relatively narrow elongated upper edge havingopenings .therealong, said planar walls each having a depressed portion adjacent and substantially parallel with said upper edge, said depressed portion being provided with openings therein adjacently spaced from said upper edge, a housing enclosing said hollow support members and providing a chamber on each planar side thereof, and heater means within the brush support memher and the housing chambers.

2. A device of the character described having the elements of claim 1 and in which the brush support member is an inverted V-shaped member in vertical lateral section.

3. A device of the character described having the elements of claim 1- and in which the brush support member is an inverted V-shaped member in lateral vertical section, and the housing is'provided with closed ends and a closable opening at its top adjacent the upper edge of the brush support member.

4. A device of the character described, having the elements of claim 1 and in which the heater means inthe housing chambers are hingedly mounted for selective movement from a position adjacent the brush support member to a position more removed therefrom.

5. A paint brush cleaning device comprising an upstanding hollow brushsupport member having a relatively narrow elongated upper edge for receiving thereover the tuft of bristles of a paint brush, said upper edge portion being provided with openings therealong, a housing closing said hollow support member providing a chamber on each side thereof, and heater means within the brush support member and spaced below said upper edge'of the brush support for supplying heat therein, said brush support member having inclined planar walls converging to the elongated upper edge, said planar walls each having a depressed portion adjacent and substantially parallel with said upper edge, said depressed portion being provided with openingstherein spaced adjacently to said upper edge.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,016,910 Beck Feb. 16,1912 1,065,401 Spitz, June 24,1913 1,111,913 Maurer. Sept. 29, 1914 1,339,784 Osborne May 11, 1920 1,542,025 Ballman June 1.6, 1925 1,603,672 Favary,w .i Oct. 19, 1926 1,919,081 .Weisswasser JulylS, 1933 2,432,868 Earl Dec. 16, 1947 2,455,684 Kirkpatrick Dec. 7, 1948 2,701,376 Smith Feb. 8,1955

FOREIGN PATENTS 3,003 Great Britain Feb. 6,1911 

